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Independent Lens Kicks Off Our New Season 
From the radical 1960s to Africa to Israel to the Civil War, the series has provided insight and opened the minds of millions of viewers to some of the most compelling television today. One of the highlights of this past season was the broadcast of the seven-hour landmark television series The New Americans, executive produced by Steve James and Gordon Quinn. The series earned rave reviews nationwide, including from The New York Times, which described it as “totally engrossing … illuminating and effortlessly beautiful.” Other highlights included dramatic films, such as Carlos Avila’s FOTO NOVELAS 2; Nisha Ganatra’s COSMOPOLITAN, starring Roshan Seth and Carol Kane; and Tracy Tragos’s elegy for her father, BE GOOD, SMILE PRETTY, which received the President’s Award for Excellence in Documentary Film, the highest award from the Vietnam Veterans of America Association. Screened for veterans groups all over the country, BE GOOD, SMILE PRETTY was also featured on 60 Minutes II. A record number of this season’s films were featured at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, including A PLACE OF OUR OWN, perennial festival favorite Stanley Nelson’s first personal documentary. And all eyes were tuned to the Academy Awards this February, as Sam Green and Bill Siegel’s THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND was nominated for Best Feature Documentary. This year, for the first time, Independent Lens has put together a prestigious Advisory Board, including such high-profile independent filmmakers and actors as past season hosts Angela Bassett and Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Ethan and Joel Coen, Roger Corman, Walter Cronkite, Chris Eyre, Samuel L. Jackson, John Pankow, Harold Perrineau Jr., John Sayles, James Schamus, Mena Suvari, Lili Taylor, Christine Vachon, Courtney B. Vance, and John Waters. These knowledgeable and talented individuals have pledged to help support the mission and direction of the series, which is to search out and broadcast the finest examples of films that provide personal visions of the many different ways we live in today’s world. The upcoming 2004–2005 season, debuting this fall, features our most impressive lineup to date. Included are three films that wowed audiences and critics alike at the recent Sundance Film Festival: Rodney Evans’s drama BROTHER TO BROTHER, winner of a Special Jury Prize, is an exploration of the glory days of the Harlem renaissance through the memories of a black, gay writer; Ramona Diaz’s IMELDA (for which SUMO EAST AND WEST director Ferne Pearlstein won Best Cinematography) is a fascinating portrait of the former first lady of the Philippines; and David Petersen’s LET THE CHURCH SAY AMEN is a riveting documentary about a storefront church in Washington, DC, that serves as a beacon of hope for its underprivileged community. Other highlights include Ron Lamothe’s THE POLITICAL DR. SEUSS, which explores a little-known side of the artist and his works; Phillip Rodriguez’s mesmerizing exploration of his hometown, LOS ANGELES NOW, which features such Los Angelenos as Salma Hayek, Phil Jackson, Eli Broad and Richard Rodriguez; GIRL WRESTLER, Diane Zander’s portrait of a groundbreaking Texas teen; famed documentarian Frederick Wiseman’s first dramatic film, THE LAST LETTER; SUNSET STORY, which follows two aging radical women living in a Los Angeles retirement home for political progressives; and a touch of greatness, a portrait of maverick teacher Albert Cullum. Continuing a tradition of exploring the infinite variety of musical expression, the new season features Yvonne Smith’s irresistible PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC: One Nation Under A Grove; KEEPING TIME: The Life, Music And Photographs Of Milt Hinton, about the legendary jazz bassist; and A LION’S TRAIL, which explains how a tune written by a poor Zulu farmer became the international hit known as “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” Several upcoming Independent Lens films take viewers to remote corners of our globe, including AFGHANISTAN UNVEILED, an inside look at the current state of Afghanistan, filmed by a team of Afghan women; THE DAY MY GOD DIED, which explores the international child sex trade, narrated by Tim Robbins and Winona Ryder; and POWER TRIP, an exploration of post-Soviet Georgia. Without a doubt, the upcoming season has some of the most compelling and exciting independent films to be found anywhere today. But we don’t have to say it ourselves. Perhaps Aaron Barnhart of The Kansas City Star put it best: “Independent Lens—merely the greatest showcase of independent film on TV today.” Check the INDEPENDENT LENS website to view the program guide, watch previews, get behind-the-scenes information, sign-up for email updates and more. |
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